The BJP’s carefully calibrated electoral push in Bengal, slated to be formally rolled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list, ran into early turbulence on Saturday when his helicopter failed to land at the designated rally venue here because of poor visibility.
The aborted landing cost the BJP a politically critical moment to forge a direct emotional connection with voters in a Matua-dominated region, at a time when the community was grappling with acute anxiety over its electoral future.
“Today’s outcome is very shocking. First, Modi could not land here. Then he put us in despair by saying nothing in his virtual speech about the looming threat of losing our voting rights. We expected a solution from his mouth, but he apparently avoided the issue,” said Supratik Biswas, a Matua who had travelled from Hanskhali to attend the rally.
A significant section of the Matua population fears disenfranchisement amid the SIR exercise, as many are reportedly unable to establish personal or parental linkage with the 2002 voters’ list, raising the possibility of their names being dropped from the rolls.
Modi’s physical absence from the charged gathering created a visible void between the party and its traditional support base in the region. The sense of disappointment was compounded by the lack of any immediate assurance or message addressing the community’s core concern, deepening uncertainty among voters who see the right to vote as central to their identity and security.
By evening, that anxiety spilled over into anger, with groups of Matuas staging a demonstration at the Badkulla railway station, demanding clarity from the BJP leadership on why they were facing the risk of the names being excluded from the voters’ list.
At Thakurnagar, the community’s nerve centre, tea vendor Hira Malik followed the programme through a live telecast on his mobile phone at his stall, only to be left disheartened. “It appears Modi deliberately avoided the issue because he had nothing meaningful to say,” Malik remarked.
Sensing the rising discontent, Modi later took to his X handle to offer an assurance to the Matua and Namasudra communities, promising support once the BJP assumed power in the state.
The Prime Minister’s visit to the Matua-dominated Ranaghat region was of particular political importance for the BJP, as surveys based on SIR data indicate that a large proportion of those unable to match themselves with the 2002 electoral rolls were Hindu refugees from Bangladesh.
The BJP had earlier maintained that applying for citizenship through the CAA portal would help such applicants retain their names on the voters’ list despite the SIR exercise.
However, a recent clarification by the Supreme Court that voting rights could only be granted after citizenship was formally obtained contradicted that claim, placing the BJP in an uncomfortable position and straining its relationship with the community.
Against this backdrop, the Bengal leadership had expected Modi to directly address the crisis and offer a roadmap to reassure voters and preserve the party’s support base.
In his brief speech, Modi confined himself to paying tribute to Matua spiritual icons Shri Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur, and to the community’s matriarch Binapani Devi.
“The Matua community has always carried forward the concept of social welfare. Shri Harichand Thakur showed the path of karma, Shri Guruchand Thakur took up the pen, and Baro Maa showered the blessings of her motherhood,” he said, while also accusing the Trinamool Congress of spreading panic through what he described as a false narrative on citizenship.
Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar did not conceal his disappointment.
“We expected a lot. It was quite painful to see that Modiji could not turn up because of the bad weather. People were eagerly waiting to listen to him,” he said.
The Matua community played a pivotal role in the BJP’s surge in Bengal during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when the promise of citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act generated hope among large numbers of impoverished Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. That confidence largely carried into the 2021 Assembly elections as well, with nearly 20 Assembly constituencies in Nadia, North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas and parts of north Bengal considered Matua-dominated.
At present, however, the simmering anger and uncertainty threaten to erode that support ahead of the coming polls.
Seeking to downplay the crisis, All India Matua Mahasangha leader and BJP MLA from Gaighata, Subrata Thakur, said the fears were exaggerated.
“The actual number of people who may eventually be dropped from the voters’ list is very small. Let the hearings take place. There is no reason to panic, as the Election Commission has prescribed 13 documents to establish credibility. Many people possess these documents, and even in their absence, I am sure that none of the migrated Hindus from Bangladesh will ultimately be omitted,” he said.
Sukesh Chowdhury, the general secretary of the Trinamool-backed faction of the All India Matua Mahasangha, sought to contest that assertion.
“These people are refugees who left Bangladesh with nothing in their hands. BJP is not a party of the poor. This is a planned conspiracy to deport the Matuas from Bengal,” he alleged.
Officials said Modi’s helicopter had hovered over the temporary helipad at Taherpur for some time before returning to Dum Dum airport because of low visibility.
The Prime Minister subsequently addressed the programme virtually, during which he laid the foundation stone and inaugurated two national highway projects worth around ₹3,200 crore in Nadia and North 24-Parganas districts. These included the inauguration of the 66.7-km four-laning of the Barajaguli–Krishnanagar stretch of NH34 and the foundation stone for the 17.6-km four-laning of the Barasat–Barajaguli section.
The projects, Modi said, would serve as a crucial link between Calcutta and Siliguri, cut travel time by nearly two hours, facilitate smoother vehicular movement and provide a significant boost to economic activity and tourism across the region.